Caged Animal
by The-stuttering-kiwi
Summary: For the blog imagine-loki on tumblr. Imagine Loki not being adopted by Odin, but being raised as a 'specimen' in a lab where Asgardian scientists used him to discover more about the Jotun race
1. Chapter 1

Amelia yawned widely as she walked from her quarters down to the dungeons of Asgard. She had been up late celebrating her promotion; from an assistant to Asgards scientists (mainly just pushing papers and running quick tests) to a more hands-on position.

"Ready for your first day?" Ellis asked. Ellis was one of the highest ranking researchers and Amelia's mentor and had spoken up for her when it was time for her promotion.

"Yes!"

"Okay, you will head down to cell 320. We need hair and blood samples, in its illusion form and in its natural state."

"The Jotun? That's my first task?"

"You can handle it can't you?"

"Of course." Amelia straightened her back.

"Good," He handed her a long stick with a fuse at the end, "It may refuse to turn for you, just stick it with this a few times."

She swallowed hard and took the electric instrument and went to the table next to her to gather test tubes, needles, and a tourniquet.

Amelia walked quickly through the corridors, checking the cell numbers on each door.

"318...319…320." She murmured and took a deep breath when she motioned for the guard to open the metal door.

A strong smell hit her nostrils, like old food and sweat. Clicking her fingers the light above her head flashed on; the floor was littered with straw, and there were two buckets in a far corner, in the adjacent corner was a thin ratty blanket Amelia assumed was supposed to be where the frost giant was supposed to sleep.

"What do you want?" A voice asked, smooth and rich, much more refined than she thought it could be.

"I am here to get some samples," She answered she hadn't realized there was an outline of a body under the thin material.

The frost giant sat up letting the blanket fall and pool around his waist, "And what kind of sample can I get for you?"

Amelia felt her breath catch in her throat. She wasn't sure what she had expected walking in here. They had performed tests and experiments on dead frost giants before but he was so… _normal_ …if she didn't know any better she would have thought he was Asgardian. His eyes weren't the Jotun red, but a dazzling green, his skin wasn't marked with the tribal lines his kind had all over their blue skin.

"Well, you might as well get on with it." He held out a long arm.

She tied the tourniquet above his elbow and waited for a vein to swell before she pressed the needle to his skin. He reached his other hand to his head and yanked at some of his long black hair and gave her the strands.

"Anything else?"

"Uh…yes…I need the same samples…but…"

"Oh, so you want to see my party trick huh?" He asked a smile crossed his lips, she thought he could maybe be handsome, with a shower and a brush dragged through his matted hair.

"Yes."

"Well, since you asked nicely." He nodded to the cattle prod, and quicker than Amelia could blink he had taken on the appearance of his race, "You'll want to be careful not to touch my skin directly."

"Are you always this nice to us?"

"No. But I've never seen you before and you are the only one to treat me with kindness."

"I'm sorry about that."

Amelia finished drawing his blood and took a few more strands of hair.

"Thank you," She said from the doorway.

The jotun raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Anytime."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Mentions of implied rape.**_

* * *

Amelia finished out the day quietly. After handing the samples over to Ellis, she considered asking what they needed them for but decided she didn't really want to know. At home, she quietly made herself a small meal and ate only half of it in the dim light of her kitchen, after washing up her dishes and wiping down the counters it was only 7:30 but she went to bed anyway.

Anything to get away from the nagging thoughts of specimen 320…

* * *

"Good morning Amelia!" Ellis said brightly the following morning before Amelia even had a chance to sit at her desk, "We need you to gather some more samples today since you did so well with the Jotun yesterday."

"Oh…okay."

"Good," The woman handed her a small silver dagger and two containers.

"What exactly am I doing?" Amelia turned the dagger over in her hands.

"We need flesh samples. Again from both forms, and we need you to record how fast it heals."

Amelia nodded but felt slightly sick from the idea, and made her way through the corridors.

Today she found the cells occupant eating from a pile of rubbish that seemed to be thrown on the floor only recently.

"And what can I do for you this time?" He asked after swallowing a mouthful of what she hoped was food.

"I need…flesh samples…" She held up the dagger.

"Ahh, I see."

"I…uh…"

"Well, might as well get on with it." He stood up quickly and grabbed the knife from her hand before she could even process that he had stood up, it wasn't her first time seeing a naked man before, but it catches you a little off-guard when you aren't prepared for it.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you your sample," He said simply and pressed the blade to the meaty mound that connected his thumb to his hand, "Here you go," He held the chunk of flesh out to her, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Thanks."

"Now what?"

"I need to record how fast you heal." Amelia held up a pad and pencil.

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I eat while we wait." He plopped back down to the stone floor.

"How often do they feed you?"

"We get scraps from the city, whatever families have left over from meals we get," He said between bites of food.

Amelia thought about the half plate of food she left behind last night that she had just thrown into the trash. "I didn't know they did that."

The man only nodded.

"How long have you been here?"

"As long as I can remember. Mind you I haven't always been in this cell; I had a nurse and was kept in slightly better conditions."

"A nurse?" Amelia sat down across from him.

"Yes," He looked at her for a moment, "You remind me a lot of her actually. The two of you are the only ones to treat me with any form of kindness."

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know. I know she got in trouble a lot for how she treated me, she used to sneak me toys, she taught me how to read and write some, she even gave me a name, Loki. I think they only waited until I could take care of myself before they got rid of her."

"They've been doing this to you since you were a child?"

"Yes, but as I have said, I had slightly better conditions back then. I think it was only a few months ago when they realized I had stopped growing I was thrown in here and subjected to tests every few days."

"I'm sorry."

"You are the only one to say so." Loki looked down at his hand, "Well I would say, ten minutes is the time it takes, don't you?" He held it out for her to see.

"I think you're right."

"I see two containers; I imagine you need my party trick again?"

"Yes."

Loki performed the motions again, on the other hand, this time, while Amelia scribbled on her notepad.

"You don't seem the type to be in this profession." He mused, watching her.

"What makes you say that?"

"You don't come in her brandishing the cattle prod or with clubs. I used to be this way with all of them, something my nurse taught me, treat others the way you want to be treated, but in the end that didn't get me anywhere."

"So why were you so easy for me yesterday."

"Just a feeling. You spoke first and didn't immediately start tazing me."

"I think you are healing a little faster this time." She pointed at where the new flesh had grown.

"I think so."

Amelia stood, brushed straw from her clothes and walked to the door, "Thank you, Loki."

* * *

I want to see the records for specimen 320, please." Amelia asked the file clerk. The woman behind the desk nodded and went to find the file.

Twenty minutes later Amelia was at her desk, her lamp was the only one lit as everyone else had gone home, she flipped open the file.

 ** _The subject was brought to Asgard by the Allfather, from Jotunheim. The Allfather noted that when he picked up the infant, it changed from its natural form to one of an Asgardian._**

 ** _Whether or not this was a survival instinct or a trick they are teaching their young to infiltrate Asgard remains to be seen._**

 ** _The subject is being housed with a laboratory appointed nurse until it can survive on its own._**

 ** _Nurse dismissed. The subject is being moved general population. Growth is being monitored._**

Amelia's eyes skimmed through the file pages, which for the most part were just heights and weights. A more recent date caught her eye.

 ** _Subject appears to have stopped growing. The troubling thing is that he is only the height of an average Asgardian, and nowhere near the smallest recorded adult height of a frost giant._**

 ** _Could he simply be a runt? Or could he be a halfbreed?_**

 ** _Further research is found that when the subject was found a camp of Asgardian POWs were also found and released. Could its mother be among the warriors?_**

Amelia realized that the following pages were all blood tests. One of the last entries was only a few weeks ago.

 ** _Confirmed, the subject is half-Asgardian, half Frost Giant._**


	3. Chapter 3

"Did you stay here all night?" Ellis's voice woke Amelia from the deep sleep she was in. She tried to sit up, but laying hunched over her desk all night made it pretty painful.

"I guess so." Amelia looked down at the file she had used as a pillow and felt a pang of embarrassed meant when she realized she had drooled on the pages.

"What has you so interested in specimen 320?" Ellis asked reading the file upside down.

"I just wanted to learn more about him."

Ellis raised her eyebrows at the word "him." "Why is that?"

"I just…I find it hard to believe that after a lifetime in captivity he…he almost seems resigned to his situation."

"A benefit of being in captivity since infancy."

"I noticed there isn't any new data entered in his chart, why?"

"Because we learned what we needed. The Allfather was concerned that they were teaching their offspring shapeshifting magic, which would have been devastating. But as its only a half-breed there is no real threat."

"So what were the tests I got samples for?"

"You certainly have a lot of questions." Ellis eyed her suspiciously.

"Purely curious."

"The samples were to note healing times and to test how potent potions and the like would be on the specimen."

"Why would you need to know that if we are done with him?"

"Because we aren't."

* * *

Amelia followed Ellis into a large room, with a table and a chair at the center. Amelia was surprised to see Prince Thor in the room a large bag slung over his shoulder, along with several of his soldiers; it took a moment for Amelia to get over her shock and bow before the prince.

"What are we doing here?" Amelia whispered to Ellis when they settled themselves into the far corner.

"Merely for observation, to try and make sure they don't get carried away."

"Carried away?"

Ellis didn't have time to answer, as there was a commotion in the hall and each second it seemed to be getting closer. Thor and his men shifted excitedly.

"Where do you want him?"

Amelia recognized the two guards that were regularly stationed outside of Loki's cell, each had a bad bloody nose, she assumed was compliments of Loki who was pinned between them.

"In the chair," Thor motioned, "make sure he is chained tightly."

Amelia's eyes traveled to the floor where the chains lay coiled; she wondered how she didn't notice them before.

Once the guards stepped away, Amelia saw fresh burns from the electric prods the guards had used, along with bruises blossoming along his ribs; she flinched when he looked up and took in his surroundings, his eyes landing on her.

"Today I want us practicing our integration techniques," Thor announced Amelia saw Loki's spine stiffen, "Don't worry about wearing out our training tool, the fine ladies here tell me, it can take quite a bit." To show this, Thor took a club from the nearest guard and drove it straight into Loki's stomach as hard as he could. Loki grunted in pain, but because he was restrained he couldn't do much besides hanging against the chains limply.

"Now," The prince continued, "I want each of you to show me what you've got in terms of how we would handle an Asgardian prisoner. And maybe, we can see what we got against frost giants."

The men murmured excitedly.

Amelia felt sick to her stomach.

The group of men circled around Loki; their excitement was overwhelming and she found it hard to get her lungs to work.

In a split second, they lunged, grabbing Loki by the wrists and holding his hands out flat against the table; while two of them reached into the bag that Thor had left on the floor and extracted a large mallet and two long nails. Their murmuring grew excitedly while Loki' continued to struggle against his restraints.

Light from the torches that lined the stone walls glinted off the nail as one of the largest soldiers poised to impale it into the pale skin of Loki's hand. With one hard whack of the mallet all of, what Amelia estimated, four inches of nail speared through the hand and into the wooden table; she was sure all the bones in the hand were shattered.

Loki gritted his teeth but didn't make a sound.

"Very nice Volstagg," Thor boomed loudly, "Although a few more hammer strikes might make a bit more noise, huh? Fandral why don't you try the other." He took the mallet from Volstagg and handed it to the tall blonde man that stood to Thor's left.

"With pleasure,"

With each hit, Amelia felt as though her stomach was climbing up her throat, the room reeked of blood, and sweat; both of excitement and although he didn't show it, fear from Loki.

"Now, I wonder," Thor examined the wounds closely, "That you might heal around these, which will make removing them all the more interesting. Wouldn't you say?" He grabbed a hunk of Loki's hair to make him look at the prince; Loki promptly spat in his face.

"Hmmm. It seems we need to teach you some manners. Sif?"

 _As in_ Lady _Sif?_ Amelia's eyes darted around the room and wondered where Sif had been hiding and how she hadn't seen her before. But as she stepped around Volstagg it was easy to realize that she was a good head and shoulders below everyone else and was easily overlooked.

It seemed that Sif already knew what she would be asked to do, as she reached into the pouch tied at her belt and retrieved a pair of ancient-looking pliers. She grinned widely as she grasped Loki's fingers in her own; his sharp breath preceded the gentle sound what Amelia knew to be his entire fingernail hitting the wooden table.

Hours dragged on as they subjected Loki to numerous torments, and not once did he give them the satisfaction of making a sound.

"Well, I can't say I am _entirely_ disappointed," Thor said as he strode around Loki, tapping what looked like a wedge in the palm of the opposite hand. "We did get quite a bit of practice in." He stopped at Loki's left hand and placed the thin end of the wedge under the head of the nail and pulled. As he had predicted Loki's skin had healed, as fresh blood began to flow, "Hmm interesting!" He moved to Loki's right hand and repeated the motion, and still, Loki didn't make a sound. "Oh well, maybe we can test that old saying," Thor reached into the bag, "About rubbing salt into the wound?" He jingled a small baggy in front of Loki's face.

"Enough!"

All head's turned to Amelia.

"Ellis, I would have thought you would have better people working for you," Thor said slowly.

"You've done enough for one day." Amelia tried to sound braver than she felt.

"Amelia!" Ellis's voice was sharp.

"Do you realize what we are doing is for the good of the realm? I would think as the daughter of one of the soldiers slaughtered by these beasts you wouldn't have a soft spot for them."

"Good of the realm?" Amelia repeated, "He's half of our blood! His mother was Asgardian!"

"I don't give a fuck if his mother was the fucking Allmother!" Thor's eyes bugged comically out of his head as he yelled, his temper was well known and now Amelia was seeing first hand why. "This," He grabbed a handful of Loki's hair again, turning his head sharply, "Is nothing more than a teaching tool for the people defending our people, and will be used as such!" He threw Loki's head away from him with such force that Loki fell over still chained in the chair; Thor advanced on Amelia but was blocked by Ellis.

"My lord, she didn't mean any disrespect. This is her first time in the dungeons, it's unsettling for everyone the first time." She explained calmly, holding her ground. Thor continued to seethe for another moment or two.

"See that she is never in my sight again. We will continue tomorrow." He finally commanded and motioned for his soldiers to follow him from the room.

"Take him away." Ellis motioned to the two guards.

Once they left with Loki, Ellis turned to Amelia, "You need to decide if this is the right place for you. Thor may forget about this in time but another outburst like that and I won't be able to protect you. Go home."

And before Amelia could say another work, Ellis swept from the chamber.

* * *

Amelia woke in a cold sweat. She could tell by looking out her bedroom window that the moon was high in the sky.

It was late.

" _You need to decide if this is the right place for you."_

 _No,_ she thought. It wasn't.

* * *

"Unlock the door please." Amelia commanded the guards firmly.

"Ellis would not have you down here at this time of night." The guard to her right replied gruffly, as the other nodded.

"Are you going to argue with me? She sent me her to check on the specimen and to make sure it will be ready for prince Thor tomorrow."

"I still don't think—"

"Do you want to be the one to summon her over this?" Amelia hoped she sounded threatening.

The pair exchanged glances and grumbled but eventually relented and opened the door.

The room was dark but she could see Loki's form, and by the angles of his long limbs, she was sure he was in the same position he was thrown to the ground in.

"Loki," She whispered, shaking him. There were a flash and a sharp pain as the back of her head hit the stone floor, a strong hand around her neck. She prayed he would realize who it was before he choked her to death.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was raspy, but the strength in his hand slacked and Amelia found she was able to breathe again.

"Can you walk?"

"I believe so."

"Do you think you can run?"

"I've never been able to."

"Do you think you can?" She pressed.

"Yes," he replied slowly, "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting you the Hel out of here."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thank you to everyone who has commented and read this story!**_

* * *

Loki hadn't moved a muscle and his hand remained around Amelia's throat, "What?"

"I am getting you out of here. Now."

"That's impossible, there is no way you and I would make it out of the corridor."

"It's the middle of the night, no one is here except for those two outside."

"It wouldn't take long for them to realize it was you that let me escape. They would come looking for you."

"I thought about that. My family had a home in the mountains before my father died and my mother brought me to the city. It will be a little dusty but…I am pretty sure no one would look for us there. And even if they did, they wouldn't find us." She explained confidently.

Loki looked skeptical and moved off of her, "Listen I know you mean well—"

"You can't really tell me you would rather stay here?"

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"Don't let's just get you out of here, then we can worry."

Loki stood and offered a hand to help her up.

"I think we should also get you some clothes, it will be hard enough smuggling you out of the city, let alone if you are naked."

"I have an idea about that," Loki said with a smirk.

Eliza took a deep breath, "Okay. Just follow behind me." She made for the door.

"Thank you, boys," She said to the guards lightly, "Ellis will be happy you didn't disturb her."

The pair made a noise, as though they were about to speak as she passed by them, but instead of speech the loud crack of their head's being slammed together and the gut wrenching sound snapping bone. Eliza knew the two guards lay dead on the floor; she also knew they deserved what they got, but she still couldn't turn to look.

"Hurry up!" She whispered.

"I would if there weren't so many buckles and straps." Loki hissed back trying to get the armor and helmets off one of the guards. A few minutes later they ascended the steps out of the lab and their lungs filled with the cool night air.

At least, they made it this far.

"If I wasn't running for my life I would say the city looks beautiful," Loki observed as they slipped through the streets.

Eliza thought about stopping at the stables to get her horse, it would certainly make the travel to her home in the mountains quicker but its tracks would be easier to follow.

It was dawn by the time they reached the base of the mountain; if the guards weren't found already it would only be a matter of moments. Would they think Loki escaped on his own? How long before they discovered that she was missing as well and put the pieces together. Regret hit her that she hadn't thought to bring some of her families heirlooms with her, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

The once clear path up the mountain was now overgrown with thorny bushes and trees knocked over by storms. In her mind, it hadn't felt like she had been away for that long, but it certainly seemed that way now. Amelia tried to clamp down the bubbling worry that the house may not be in the best shape as she had thought.

The sun was high in the sky and their legs ached by the time the cottage came into view. At first glance it seemed intact, even the garden that she had helped her mother plant seemed to be flourishing thanks to the latter's skill in casting spells.

"Oh thank the Norns." She breathed when she opened the door and saw everything was how they left it, albeit with a thick layer of dust.

She looked at Loki, "I think we may have left behind some of my father's things." She mumbled as she headed for the master bedroom.

"Here," She handed him a pair of cloth pants and a hunter green tunic.

"Thanks," He ducked into one of the rooms to change.

"A little bit of work and this place won't be half bad," Amelia said out loud to herself. She peeked into the cabinets in the kitchen and noticed her mother had left most of the cooking things behind, opting to buy new when they moved to the city.

"So what do we do if they come looking for us?" Loki came back into view, the clothes were faded but fit pretty well she thought.

She held up a finger, "My father," Amelia started kicking rugs aside, "Had come back from the war with Jotenheim a bit…paranoid…he built a safe room under the house with a trap door…somewhere…here!" She excitedly knelt and pushed the braided rug away to reveal a small metal handle. "If we see anyone coming we can hide down here!"

Loki nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

"I am going to get us some water and see what the garden has in terms of food." She grabbed a bucket from under the sink and a basket from the hook by the door. It hadn't seemed like it when her mother whisked her away, but they really had only brought the essentials.

Both turned in early that night, exhausted but with full bellies from the fresh vegetables and the couple fish Amelia was able to catch when she was getting water, Amelia's eyes closed the moment her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Amelia was awake first the following morning and ventured outside for water and some fruit she spied the night before. It wasn't much of a breakfast but its what they had for now.

"Loki?" She called when she returned, the door of the room he slept in was still closed.

"Loki?" She knocked and the door creaked open.

The bed was empty.

"What the Hel?" Throwing open the curtains so the sun light filled the room Amelia saw the note on the bedside table.

 _Amelia,_

 _I know you aren't going to be happy when you see that I've left but it is for the best. If they find me with you…I shudder to think what will happen. At least, maybe this way you can try to convince them that you came up here to take some space. I will take the armor with me and hide it somewhere, that way there is no proof I was with you. I have never known what it felt to be grateful to someone but, I imagine this is what it feels like._

 _I'm not sure where I will go from here, but I know for sure this place is not home for me, and I need to find it._

 _Thank you, Amelia, for showing me that kindness can still be found in the darkest of places._

 _Loki._

Amelia sighed and folded the note and put it in the drawer, closed the curtains, and went out to the kitchen to eat.

* * *

It would be many years later, while Amelia watched smoke billowing from the city below, that she would come to learn that the name Loki meant _God of Destruction_.


End file.
